Congratulations on getting a business analyst interview.
We all know interviews are stressful, and competition is intense.
However, with preparation, you can ace the Business Analyst Interview.
Here, we will advise on how to prepare for the interview, review questions you may be asked and questions to ask, discuss interview attire, and recommend a few business analyst interview tips.
What is the role of a business analyst?
- Businesses constantly need new software to remain competitive. Software is created or updated by computer programmers or developers. Business analysts meet with stakeholders to define requirements, which are then handed to developers to write code.
How do I prepare for a business analyst interview?
- Reread the job description, find the critical skills and experience they are looking for, and then list those skills. For example, if they are looking for someone with experience using JIRA or Microsoft Visio, and you have experience with those tools, be sure to make a note and tell them in your interview.
- Match any industry experience you have with the job you are interviewing for. For example, if you are applying at a bank and have banking experience, be ready to tell them about it during the interview.
- Does the company use Agile in its SDLC? If the SDLC is Agile, ensure you are familiar with the key Agile terms, including scrum master, stand-up meetings, stories, features, and sprint planning.
- If the company uses a waterfall approach, consider discussing tools such as SharePoint and Office, as well as a requirements management tool like HP ALM.
Business Analyst Interview Questions and Answers
Why do you want to be a business analyst?
Possible answers are
- State that you have strong communication skills, allowing you to interact well with the business and work well with developers and quality assurance analysts.
- Mention that you have a passion for solving problems and will enjoy the challenge of solving new problems.
- Discuss how you will be able to apply your related experience to the role of BA.
- Discuss your passion for the industry or the product you are working on.
What is a smart requirement?
- A SMART requirement is specific, measurable, attainable, realistic, and traceable.
What types of SDLC models have you worked with in the past?
- If you are applying for a senior position, ensure you are familiar with Agile methodologies. Many experienced BAs have never used Agile in the past.
- Popular models today include the Waterfall, V-shaped model, Iterative, Spiral, Big Bang, and Agile models.
What is a Use Case Model?
- A use case is a set of actions the end-user can perform to accomplish a task or goal. For example, a Gmail user may log in, write an email, send an email, and then log out. The second set of actions involves logging in to Gmail, deleting several emails, and then logging out. A business analyst tries to map out all the use cases (including exceptions) to ensure that all the requirements are covered and well thought through.
What can you tell me about the traceability matrix?
- A change in one requirement can impact another requirement or test case. These impacted requirements or test cases need to be updated. A traceability matrix will tell you which requirements or tests need updating.
Where do you see yourself in five years?
State a goal related to the job you are applying for. For example,
- If you are applying as a junior business analyst, say you want to become a senior business analyst.
- If you are interviewing for a senior or business analyst position, state that you want to be a project manager.
Tip! Look at careers you can see yourself doing in five years. Look at the requirements for that position. State what you are doing or plan on doing to achieve those requirements (for example, I want to be a project manager, and I am going to start studying for my PMP next month)
Remember Your Job Interview Questions?
Whether it was recent or a while ago, your experience can help others.
Business Analyst Behavioral Interview Questions
How would you handle a challenging end-user?
- State that you sympathize with the end-user and try to understand why he or she is upset. Once you find the reason, tell them you will log a defect or a change request. Often, users do not understand how the system works, and you may need to provide more detailed explanations.
How would you handle an end-user with high expectations?
- Tell them that you can prioritize their requests and phase in changes individually. It is essential to set and manage the end user’s expectations.
Tell us about a mistake you made in the past.
- Everyone makes mistakes, and it is okay. The important thing is what you learned from it and what you did to fix the situation.
Tell us about a time when you disagreed with your boss. How did you handle it?
- There is nothing wrong with disagreeing with your boss. Explain how the situation played out where you and your boss came to an agreed-upon outcome.
Agile Questions
The next section is dedicated to Agile Business Analyst Interview Questions. Note that Agile is everywhere, and if you have experience as only a waterfall BA, you need to learn these questions and how to answer them!
What is a User Story?
- A story is a unit of work written by a BA and completed by a software developer. Many stories make a feature in Agile.
What is a Feature?
- A feature is usually a collection of stories. For example, a site may have a feature called “Register.” Users can register with their email, Facebook, or Gmail accounts. The three stories in the registration feature are email, Facebook, and Gmail.
What is a Sprint?
- A sprint is a set period during which a specific set of tasks or stories has to be completed and ready for review.
What is a Product Backlog?
- Stories not included in the current sprint and not being worked on are stored in the product backlog.
What is Test-Driven Development (TDD)?
- In Test-Driven Development (TDD), developers write their unit tests first. They write them intending to fail. The developers continue to check in their code until the unit test case passes.
What is Behavior Driven Development (BDD)?
- BDD is written in the format “given”, “when”, and “then”. It is written in a way to describe end-user behavior. In a user story, it is often included as an acceptance criterion.
What is Continuous Integration?
- Every time developers save and check in their code, a set of automated test cases runs to ensure high-quality software.
What tools are used by Business Analysts?
There are many tools to choose from, but only a handful of tools business analysts use. These tools are
Jira and Confluence from Atlassian.
- Jira is the most popular Agile tool. Business analysts create features and user stories. Stories are initially put into a product backlog and then scheduled for a sprint.
- Confluence is used to create business requirements. Requirements are often broken down into user stories. You can link requirements to stories.
Microsoft Office and SharePoint
- Most business analysts will use Microsoft Office products, specifically Word and Excel. Documents are saved on SharePoint to allow collaboration. PowerPoint is used to give presentations.
Google Docs and Sheets
- Google Docs and Google Sheets are just like the Microsoft tools mentioned above. They are stored on the Google Cloud to allow collaboration.
Business Analyst Interview Questions to Ask
- What type of advancement can top-performing business analysts expect?
- What are the characteristics of your top-performing business analysts?
What are the three most essential skills of a business analyst?
The three most essential skills are
- Effective communication skills encompass listening, writing, and speaking.
- Problem Solving (Businesses have problems they need solved, and they turn to BAs for that help)
- Organization and planning (letting the client know when they should expect their change to be implemented).
Proper industry and business research are crucial to help land a job. My uncle would always send me to find interview questions online and then mock interview me. Great advice to be even more prepared for an interview.